With the increasing proliferation of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in our life, a basic understanding of Computer Science is becoming an essential part of Education. At Google we are always endeavouring to promote fun and interesting ways to learn computer programming and Code to Learn Contest is one such initiative. Describing the initiative, Google Fellow, Dr Guha said that Programming is not just about computer science. It is a set of tools for kids to explore new ideas, virtually build new things, experience the frustration of things not working and finally the exquisite joy of creating something new from scratch. Programming democratizes the education of innovative thinking.

Code to Learn initiative has been included in the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan - National Innovation Mission. The contest enables students from classes 5 to 10 to develop software projects on subjects of their choice, without writing even one line of programming code! To develop their projects, students can use Scratch and App Inventor - both tools have been developed at MIT. These tools make programming very easy and students are able to tell stories, make animations, build games and create Android apps in a quick and intuitive manner.

The Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan is the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) flagship initiative. The program aims at fostering a spirit of inquiry and creativity, apart from inculcating a love for Science and Math among children. Code to Learn will help kids effectively deploy technology and enhance their interest in Computer Science. The Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan will help in creating a framework for innovation and research in school learning. This will be essential for developing a ‘Digital First’ generation, ready to reap the rewards of Government of India’s Digital India Programme of which Google is a proud partner. The Code to Learn initiative will help in translating Prime Minister Modi’s vision of making India a world leader in digital technologies for it will help kids effectively deploy technology and enhance their interest in Computer Science.

On the occasion of launch of the mission, the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development, Mrs Smriti Irani said that she was grateful to have Google as a partner in Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan for enthusing children about coding and giving an opportunity to winners of the contest to engage with latest technologies and Google engineers at Google campus.

Code to Learn Contest was launched by former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. He hoped that the mission would ignite the young minds and help develop love for knowledge from an early age and cement India’s leadership in this domain.

We invite school students in classes 5 to 10 enrolled at any school in India to visit the contest website to register for Google India Code to Learn Contest 2015. Note that due to age restrictions, only parents or legal guardians can register for the contest on behalf of the students.